Type cylinder having tiltable type



Oct. 18, 1966 B. HOWARD TYPE CYLINDER HAVING TILTABLE TYPE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6, 1964 LN 'lifi'll )R BERNARD HOWARD ATTORNEYS Oct. 18, 1966 B. HOWARD TYPE CYLINDER HAVING TIL-TABLE TYPE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 6, 1964 INVENTOR. BERNARD HOWARD ATTORP IEYS United States Patent 3,279,576 TYPE CYLINDER HAVING TIIiTABLE TYPE Bernard Howard, Upper Saddle River, N.J., assignor to Mite Corporation, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Delaware FiledNov; 6, 1964, Ser. No. 409,499 12 Claims. (Cl."197-- 49) This invention relates totype cylinders, andmore'particularly to type cylinders which are slidable on a splined shaft.

A known form of printer, particularly for telegraph use, employs a prismatic cylinder having permanently aflixed lines of type. The cylinder is rotatable by means of a splined shaft, and is axially slidableon the shaft, for rotav come the difficulty of error in alignment, and to provide type strips which float or tilt freely and therefore are selfadjustable to correct such error in rotative'alignment. An

ancillary object is to eliminate the'need for a cushioned or pivoted hammer face.

Other objects of the invention are to simplify the manufacture and to reduce the cost of thetype cylinder, and to facilitate a change of type.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my inventionresides in the type cylinder and shaft assembly,

a and the elements thereof, and their relation one to another,

as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG 1 is a perspectiveexploded view of a ty'pe cylinder and associated printer elements embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation explanatory of the relation of. the parts shown in'FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section through a type cylinder; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a telegraph printer in which the type cylinder is used;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view showing two parts of a type cylinder; FIG. 6 is an elevation of an integral type strip;

FIG..7 is a section through the retainer ring of a type cylinder; and

FIGI8 is a schematic elevational view of a modification.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 2, the type cylinder-12 is octagonal and it isslidable on a splined shaft 14. Its axial movement-is provided by means of a yoke '-16 having a sleeve '18slidable'on a guide rod 20, the yoke itself being moved'by means of a cable indicated at 22. The paper to'be printed is'represented by a broken line 24. A hammer 26 is carried by shaft 28 and serves to strike the paper against one of the characters on the front of the type cylinder12. The paper 24 maybe of the self-inking type, or if not, an in'k'ribbon 30 is located between-the hammer face and the paper.

Telegraph printers of the type here considered, and in which the present improved cylinder may be use d, are disclosed in my Patents Nos. 2,727,944, issued December 20,1955; 2,769,029, issued October 30, 195 6; and3,063,-

540, issued November 13, 1962, all entitled Telegraph Printer. Other telegraph printers in which thetype cylin- 'der may be used are disclosed in my copendin'g patent applications Serial Nos. 340,615, filed January 28, 1964,

and entitled Miniaturize'd Electrically Operated Printer,

and 306,739 filed August'22, 1963, and entitled Electri- 'ca'lly Operated Printer.

Referring now to FIG. lot the drawing, the type cylinderan'd' shaft assembly comprises a shaft 14 having spaced "longitudinal grooves '32. There are a plurality of pivots 34"positioned one ineach groove, and type strips 36 secured to the pivots 34. A retainer ring 38 is disposed around the pivots 34'to hold the assembly together around the shaft 14. The proportioning of the parts is such that the strips 36are tiltable'by reason of the pivots 34. The

stripshave characters, only two of which are shown.

Referring now to FIG. 5, for a very limited amount of production the type strips and 52 may be metal strips which aresoldered or brazed to round steel rod such as drill rod, indicated at 54. When a single retainer ring 56 is employed at the middle of the cylinder, as here shown,

it maybe said that the type strip is interrupted to receive the-ring 56, ordifferently expressed, that each'pivot rod 54 has a pair of typestrips 50 and 52 which are disposed end-to-end wi-tha space therebetween dimensioned to just receive the retainer ring 56. The parts are preferably'so 'dimensioned'that the retainer ring is received directly around theiexposed middle portion 'of the rod 54 and therefore does not interfere with the desired rocking action.

-For larger volume production the type strips and'rod are preferably integrally molded,'and such is the case in FIGS. 1, 3, 6' and 7. A hard plastics material may be used, or metal, and in. the latter case the tiltable type strip may be cast or may be made by'an' electroforming process. The characters on the type strips are formed as a part 'of the molding operation.

Because the bottom of the pivot 34 (FIG.'2) is' rounded for rocking of the type 'strip, and because the top of pivot longitudinally of the shaft .14, the yokesleeve '18'being slidable on a guide rod 20 which isparallel to the shaft.

The retainer ring 38' is annularly grooved at 40 to'receive the yoke 16 in order to move the cylinder axially without interferingwithrotation of the cylinder by means of the shaft "1 4. A light 'positioning'spring '42bears against thattype stripwhich is-' facing the hammer 44 carried byhammer arm 26. The spring 42 issecured 'to the yoke at 46, and the type strips may begrooved or recessed to 'receive the skpring, *asis' indicated at 48. For smallproduction a standardpinion rod may be used as the'-shaft14,"'theends of the rod being turned down to form trunnions 60 or "desired length. The

pinion rod'here'shown has"eight'teeth, and there are eight-grooves between the "teeth. The cylinder compriseseight tiltable typestrips. .The cable which moves the -yoke=16 axially is indicatediby the broken'line 22,

it being secured-tothe yoke by means of ascrew received at '62,

To assemble the parts of thetype cylinder the eight I tiltable strips may be passed through'and spread around the-inside of'the retainerring 40, following'Wh-ich the pinion rod or shaft 14 is slid axially through the assembly. One form of printer in which the type cylinder may i be used is shown in FIG. 4. This is a compact tape in airborne computers or other-airborne equipment, or

for military purposes, or for any purpose in which compactness and lightweight are important.

The paper tape is fed from a reel at 64 to and along a tape guide 66, and then across the front of the printer between a type hammer 68 and a type cylinder 70. The tape then is carried through a suitable taipe feed mechanism at 72. The .type cylinder is moved axially on pinion shaft 74 by means of a yoke 76 which also carries a positioning spring 78. The rotational character selection is obtained by means of a cable which is threaded back and forth around three selector pulleys moved by solenoids, the motion of the three pulleys being in the ratio of one to, two to four, thus providing eight positions. The type cylinder, as in FIGS. 5 and 6, is eight characters long, as well as eight characters around, and its axial position is also obtained by means of a cable which is threaded around three pulleys which are movable by solenoids in the ratio of one to two to four, again establishing eight axial positions.

When printing on a tape, as here shown,.the only axial movement required of the type cylinder is for character selection. When printing on a sheet, the type cylinder has an additional step-by-step movement across the paper to print the linesof type, and the splined shaft is appropriately lengthened, and the hammer is arranged for step-by-step movement with the type cylinder. Thus,

in FIG. 2 for example, the shaft 28 would be 'a splined shaft, with the hammer slidable therealong. This is not needed when printing on tape, as in FIG. 4, because the printing station then is fixed. Another difference .in FIG. 4 is that the hammer 68 is pivoted at 80, that is, the hammer arm extends horizontally instead of vertically as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 4, the guide rod for the yoke 76 is not visible because instead of being located above the pinion rod as in FIG. 1, it is located behind and somewhat below the pinion rod. This relation is shown in FIG. 7, in which the sleeve 82 of yoke 76 slides on guide rod 84. The retainer ring is shown at 86, the section being taken through the groove of the retainer ring, in which groove the yoke 76 is located.

The splined shaft 74 is called a pinion shaft for convenience, and with limited production a pinion shaft may, in fact, be used. However,for larger production the groove shape may be especially designed, with a shape somewhat different from a conventional pinion tooth shape. Such a shaft is shown at 74 in FIG. 7, the sides of the groove .being straight, and disposed at an angle of 90. The shaft may be machined or may be extruded out of a relatively soft metal which later is hardcoated. A molded plastics material may be used for the shaft, provided that a suitable plastics material is selected.

FIG. 7 also shows the round or rod-like midportion 90 of the tiltable print strips 92. A different or more typical section through the print strips is shown in FIG.

3, in which the rod portion 90 expands into the strip gap for the retainer ring and the exposed rounded top of the pivot are shown'at 96. The long bottom pivot surface is shown at 90. The width of the retainer ring is exaggerated in FIGS. 2 and 5 for clarity, but FIG. 6 shows how gap 96 is small enough to fit between two characters 94 while spacing the characters uniformly. The channel 98 for the positioning spring similarly fits between two characters.

In FIG. 7 it may be noted that the outer diameter of the retainer ring 86 is smaller than that of the cylinder, so that there is no interference when printing. The radius of the top of the rod at the gap 96 (FIG.

6) may differ slightly, if desired, from the radius: of: the bottom of the rod. For example, it may besmaller to help reduce the diameter of the retainer ring 86':

(FIG. 7

The type cylinder may be assembled with retainer rings at the ends instead of at the middle,'and such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 8 in which the type strips 0 102 are uninterrupted. The pivot rods are extended at for axial movement may be securedat 114,- the sleeve portion of the yoke 108 being slidable on a guide rod 116. A positioning spring is preferably, employed, must as shown in FIG. 1, but has been omitted in FIG. 8 to simplify the drawing.

It is believed that the construction and method of assembly and use of my improved type cylinder, as well as a the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The individual type strips can i change their angular position in relation to the hammer to permit slight corrections in angular relationship for better printing. pinion rod, and if slightly out of alignment there is a correction as the hammer strikes the paper against the type a cylinder. This greatly improves the quality of printing,

and it does away with the need for a special cushioned or Instead, a simple. solid hammer pivoted hammer face. face may be used.

Another advantage arises in manuafcture" because of the ease of assembly of the parts of the type cylinder. If it be desired to change the alaphabet in the machine, one or more strips maybe i changed by removing the type cylinder assembly from the splined shaft; making the appropriate substitution; and l Servicing is facilitated.

restoring the type cylinder to the shaft.

It will be understood that while I have shown and described the invention in several preferred forms, changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

In the claims the reference to type strips and pivot rods is i not intended to exclude the preferred construction in which they are integrally molded- The term pinion shaft is not inteded to require a true gear-tooth shape.

I claim:

1. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft having uniformly spaced longitudinal grooves, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove, type strips on said rods, a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the shaft, said retainer ring being annularly grooved to receive said yoke for moving the cylinderaxially without interfering with rotation of the same by the shaft, and a light positioning spring carried by. said yoke, and bearing against that type strip which is facing the hammer.

2. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft being a long pinion-like shaft,

said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove between pinion teeth, a plurahty of pairs of type strips with one pair on each of said rods, the paired strips being disposed 'end-to-end ona pivot rod witha space therebetween, a retainer-ring around said rods in the space between said strips to hold the as-- The individual strips tilt freely on the said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove between pinion teeth, a plurality of pairs of type strips with one pair on each of said rods, the paired strips being disposed end-to-end on a pivot rod with a space therebetween, a retainer ring around said rods in the space between said strips to hold the assembly together around the pinion shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the pinion shaft, said retainer ring being annularly grooved to receive said yoke for moving the cylinder axially without interfering with rotation of the cylinder by means of the pinion shaft, and a positioning spring carried by said yoke and bearing against that pair of type strips which is facing the hammer and serving to position the said pair of strips for parallel contact with the hammer.

4. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft being a long pinion-like shaft having eight teeth, said type cylinder comprising eight pivot rods positioned one in each groove between pinion teeth, eight pairs of type strips with one pair on each of said rods, the paired strips being disposed end-to-end on a pivot rod with a space therebetween, a retainer ring around said rods in the space between said strips to hold the assembly together around the pinion shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the pinion shaft, and said retainer ring being annularly grooved to receive said yoke for moving the cylinder axially without interfering with rotation of the cylinder by means of the pinion shaft, said strips being tiltable by reason of said pivot rods.

5. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft being a long pinion-like shaft having eight teeth, said type cylinder comprising eight pivot rods positioned one in each groove between pinion teeth, eight pairs of type strips with one pair on each of said rods, the paired strips being disposed end-to-end on a pivot rod with a space therebetween, a retainer ring around said rods in the space between said strips to hold the assembly together around the pinion shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the pinion shaft, said retainer ring being annularly grooved to receive said yoke for moving the cylinder axially without interfering with rotation of the cylinder by means of the pinion shaft, and a positioning spring carried by said yoke and bearing against that pair of type strips which is facing the hammer and serving to position the said pair of strips for parallel contact with the hammer.

6. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft being a long pinion-like shaft, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove between pinion teeth, said rods being oscillatable in said respective grooves, type strips fixed on said rods outside said shaft, and a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the pinion shaft, said strips and rods being freely tiltable in said grooves, the tilt being limited to a small angle by reason of the strips, each type strip being self-adjustable to parallel the hammer face when struck by the hammer.

7. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft having spaced longitudinal grooves, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove, said rods being oscillatable in said respective grooves, type strips fixed on said rods outside said shaft, and a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the shaft, said strips and rods being freely tiltable in said shaft grooves, the tilt being limited to a small angle by reason of the strips, each type strip being self-adjustable to parallel the hammer face when struck by the hammer.

8. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft having spaced longitudinal grooves, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove, said rods being oscillatable in said respective grooves, type strips fixed on said rods outside said shaft, a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the shaft, said strips and rods being freely tiltable over a small angle either side of a normal position by reason of said pivot rods being seated in said grooves, the tilt being limited to a small angle by reason of the strips, a light positioning spring bearing against the outer face of that type strip which is facing the hammer and tending to hold it in normal position, and means to support said spring, each type strip being self-adjustable to parallel the hammer face when struck by the hammer.

9. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft having spaced longitudinal grooves, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove, said rods being oscillatable in said respective grooves, type strips fixed on said rods outside said shaft, a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the shaft for moving the cylinder axially without interfering with rotation of the same by the shaft, said strips and rods being freely tiltable on said pivot rods, the tilt being limited to a small angle by reason of the strips, each type strip being self-adjustable to parallel the hammer face when struck by the hammer.

10. A type cylinder and shaft assembly as defined in claim 9, in which there are two retainer rings, one at each end of the cylinder, and in which the yoke straddles the ends of the cylinder.

11. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft having spaced longitudinal grooves, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove, type strips fixed on said rods outside said shaft, a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the shaft for moving the cylinder axially without interfering with rotation of the same by the shaft, said strips and rods being tiltable over a small angle by reason of said pivot rods, whereby each type strip is self-adjustable to parallel the hammer face when struck by the hammer, there being a single retainer ring, and said retainer ring being annularly grooved to receive the yoke.

I12. A type cylinder and shaft assembly for use with a printing hammer, said shaft having spaced longitudinal grooves, said type cylinder comprising a plurality of pivot rods positioned one in each groove, type strips fixed on said rods outside said shaft, a retainer ring around said rods to hold the assembly together around the shaft, a yoke movable longitudinally of the shaft for moving the cylinder axially without interfering with rotation of the same by the shaft, said strips and rods being tiltable over a small angle by reason of said pivot rods, whereby each type strip is self-adjustable to parallel the hammer face when struck by the hammer there being a single retainer ring, said retainer ring being annularly grooved to receive the yoke, and said retainer ring being narrower than the space between adjacent characters of the type strips and being located in the space between two characters of a type strip.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 983,153 1/'1911 Lowe et al 101--406 1,758,536 5/1930 Post 10l377 X 2,769,029 10/1956 Howard 197-49 X 3,063,540 11/196-2 Howard 19749 3,141,402 7/1964 Howard 101-110 X 3,169,474 2/1965 Howard- 101376 X 3,181,679 5/ 1965 Stubbmann 1976.7

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner. DAVID KLEIN, Examiner.

E. S. BURR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TYPE CYLINDER AND SHAFT ASSEMBLY FOR USE WITH A PRINTING HAMMER, SAID SHAFT HAVING UNIFORMLY SPACED LONGITUDINAL GROOVES, SAID TYPE CYLINDER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PIVOT RODS POSITIONED ONE IN EACH GROOVE, TYPE STRIPS ON SAID RODS, A RETAINER RING AROUND SAID RODS TO HOLD THE ASSEMBLY TOGETHER AROUND THE SHAFT, A YOKE MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY OF THE SHAFT, SAID RETAINER RING BEING ANNULARLY GROOVED TO RECEIVE SAID YOKE FOR MOVING THE CYLINDER AXIALLY WITHOUT INTERFERING WITH ROTATION OF THE SAME BY THE SHAFT, AND A LIGHT POSITIONING SPRING CARRIED BY SAID YOKE AND BEARING AGAINST THAT TYPE STRIP WHICH IS FACING THE HAMMER. 